


Lucky Chances

by ChromeMist



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: First Meetings, Jean can't flirt, JeanMarco Gift Exchange, JeanMarco Gift Exchange 2018, M/M, Marco Bott is a Sweetheart, but he loves his dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:04:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17127875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChromeMist/pseuds/ChromeMist
Summary: Jean never considered himself lucky. But all that changes when he meets his new neighbor.





	Lucky Chances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FreckledSkittles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSkittles/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! I decided to challenge myself this year and take part in the JM Gift Exchange. Down to the wire but I made it! It's a little rough, but I'm pretty happy with it, and I think I hit a good amount of my prompts. My giftee is FreckledSkittles, and I hope you like how I interpreted your prompts! I work with dogs, so I felt most comfortable with that one. Big thank you to my friend and beta reader [SpiritHorse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse). It was a quick beta though, so I might go back at some point and flesh out scenes that I wanted to hit but never got around to writing. And thanks to everyone on the Discord group who were super encouraging!

Jean never considered luck to play a part in his life. But as he watched his large poodle Freddy shake and shiver between his legs, he though maybe he should take some stock into Murphy’s Law. Jean winced as another loud bang came from the unit next door and Freddy’s shaking increased. He looked up from the quivering mass of curly brown fur to his laptop and the five faces watching him from the screen.

“I’m sorry guys. I didn’t realize my new neighbor was moving in today, or I would have gone somewhere quieter.” Jean moved his hand away from the keyboard to place it reassuringly on Freddy’s head. Fiona, Jean’s assistant, smiled and shook her head in her window screen,

“It’s okay, Jean. I think we covered everything for this week that we needed to cover. Go take care of Freddy. If we have any questions or problems, you know we’ll contact you.”

Jean snorted a laugh as he agreed, knowing full well his team had absolutely no problem reaching out to him at all hours of the day. He bide his team a goodbye and logged off. Being a manager for a startup meant he had to be reachable at all times, and he really had no problem with that. Telecommuting with his team from across the country allowed him freedom. Freedom to do things like go see how long his new neighbor would take to move in so he could take his dog out for a long walk. Jean sighed as he closed his laptop and stood, reaching his hands up to the ceiling and stretching out the kinks in his back. He then patted his leg in a motion for his dog to follow him as he left his office. Freddy perked up, immediately jumping up to dash after him. 

A series of bangs came from next door, sounding like they were making their way up the stairs. Freddy shook as she and Jean reached the front door. As quickly as he could, he fastened her into her Halloween themed harness and leash. Remembering to grab his wallet, phone, and keys, he led Freddy out the door, only to stop short by a wall of boxes and the small shared porch. Jean had lived in a small two story townhouse for a few years now and had only one neighbor in that entire time. The previous owners were serious internet shoppers, but were pretty good about keeping the stone porch neat and tidy. As Jean stepped around the Great Wall of Boxes, he hoped that his new neighbor or neighbors would be the same after everything was inside. As he started making his way down the walkway, an excited voice piped up behind him, causing Jean to stop and turn back towards the porch.

“Oh wow, what a cute dog!” Looking back up the steps he had just come down, Jean saw an angel. A black haired, freckled, excited angel with the biggest smile on his face that was descending the few steps to hurry over to him and Freddy. A blush crept up Jeans face as the angel came to a stop a safe distance from them. Jean willed his mouth to stay closed to try and stave off the awkward flirting, He had been told his attempts were horrendous at best, and he really didn’t want to scare off the cute angel. Said cute angel was still looking excitedly between Jean and his now happy-to-have-attention dog.

“Are they friendly? Can I pet them?” He gestured towards Freddy.

Jean blinked out of his stupor long enough to command Freddy to sit. “Yeah, she’s very friendly.” Then, because word vomit tended to happen when Jean was around pretty people, “I’m just taking her on a walk because she hates loud sounds. Are you my new neighbor?” Jean flinched inwardly. At least it was a small vomit this time.

The angel offered Freddy his hand for her to sniff and deem worthy enough of her attention. He smiled as he began petting her happily, nodding as he introduced himself. “Yup! My name’s Marco.” The now-named angel Marco laughed lightly as Freddy stood up and begin brushing herself back and forth against Marco’s stomach and legs. “I’m so sorry our banging around scared her. We’re halfway done though. If I had known any of my neighbors had pets, I would have come by earlier to warn you about the noise.”

Cute, considerate, and his dog likes him. Yeah, Jean was doomed. Before Jean could open his mouth to answer Marco, Freddy suddenly lunged around the new boy and made a made dash back to the stairs while dragging Jean behind her.

“Freddy!” Jean exclaimed as she jerked on her leash, jumping up onto her back paws and hoping forward while trying to get at Marco’s bay window. “What are you doing? I’m sorry Marco, she’s usually more well behaved than..” Jean trailed off as he spotted what Freddy was so desperately trying to get to. There, lounging in the uncovered window, sat a fluffy white and red cat. Jean stopped in his tracks, causing Freddy to jerk back a little, “You have a cat?” Jean asked trying not to let the horror show through his voice. “Freddy heel!” He commanded, to which she reluctantly obeyed. Freddy whined low as she turned back around and went into a sit at Jean’s left side, though she couldn’t contain her wiggling and whining while keeping her eyes on the cat. Said cat hadn’t moved an inch.

“Um, yeah, I do. Her name’s Mochi. She’s a sweet girl.” Marco answered as he moved to Freddy’s other side. “Are you allergic?” He asked worriedly.

“No..” Jean said, shaking his head a little. “I’m just not a huge cat fan. My sister had a furry demon growing up.” Jean rolled up his hoodie sleeve to show Marco the short lines of scars on his forearm. “The little demon attacked me every chance it got. And I was the only one it did that too!”

Marco tutted quietly as he looked the old wounds over. “I’m sorry that happened. But Mochi isn’t like that. She really is very friendly, almost dog-like!” a small blush appeared behind the splash of freckles as Marco looked down shyly. “You’re welcome to come over to play with her, if it’ll help you get over your fear.” Jean sputtered slightly, both because of the flirting if that was flirting and Marco wasn’t just being shy, and because he assumed Jean was afraid.

“I’m not afraid! I just don’t like cats!”

Marco snickered quietly behind a hand. “Ok, sure, you’re not afraid. But the offer still stands.” He turned to face Jean then, sticking out his hand. “By the way, I never got your name.” Jean blinked and looked down at the offered hand, blush again rising on his cheeks. He raised his hand grasped Marco’s own, shaking slightly.

“Jean.” As Marco beamed a huge smile at him, Jean felt his legs turn a little to jelly. God this boy was cute!

“Well Jean, was great meeting you! I need to get back to helping my friends get all my stuff inside, we shouldn’t be more than another 2 hours though. I’d really like to get to know you more! My friends are planning a house warming party sometime, if you’d like to join us?” The eagerness in Marco’s voice and eyes stabbed at Jean’s heart. And really, how could he say no to that face? Jean quickly agreed, causing Marco’s face to bloom into that radiant smile again. Jean decided then and there that this boy would probably be the death of him.

“Great! I’ll let you know when a date is decided. It was really great meeting you Jean!” Marco then bent over at the waist to pat Freddy on her head. “You too Freddy! Mochi is really good with dogs, so you’re welcome to bring her too.” Freddy’s tail thumped on the cement as she was addressed. Jean could only nod as Marco turned back towards his house, waving behind him. 

Jean blinked out of his stupor as Marco’s door banged shut. He ran a hand over his face and groaned as he turned and gently tugged Freddy to follow him back down the path. As he started to make his was to the local park, he turned his head to speak to Freddy.

“Did you just 101 Dalmatian me for a cat?” The only answer she deemed worthy was a huffy sigh and to pull on her harness to get to her standard first tree stop in the park. “Well fuck…

Over the next couple of months, Jean and Marco did get together often and hang out. When Jean finally gave Marco his number, Marco always made sure to text him any time he was going to be making loud sounds while moving things around his place. Jean eventually came face to face with Mochi and slowly, over time, got to be comfortable around the ragdoll cat. Marco once told him her breed of cat was more dog-like in nature, and were really relaxed. Marco had also told him one night when they were hanging out late at his place that having Mochi helped him through the time his father and mother had gotten into a terrible car accident. While they were ok now, at the time Marco had had to drop college in order to take care of his siblings while his parents were recovering in the hospital.

Marco told him he now takes Mochi to hospitals on the weekends, as she had been certified to be a therapy animal. Marco told Jean he loves it and helping children, and wants to be a child therapist. Jean thinks he’s falling in love with Marco.

Jean thinks he wants to ask Marco out. But every time he thinks he’s worked up the courage, he chickens out or gets distracted. Every time he walks away from Marco without confessing, he thinks to himself ‘next time.’

Next time never happens.

It was a week before Christmas when it happened. 

It was just a little past sunset when Jean came home from a quick trip to the store. Last minute Christmas presents he had ordered had finally arrived and was piled into one big box. Jean huffed and grumbled as he unlocked his door, sticking his bags inside the entryway while keeping the door propped open with his foot. He never worried about Freddy bolting. She too well trained for that. At least, that was what he thought. He had left the door propped open many times in the past. She was even trained off leash, so he had no doubts in his mind. That was until the loud banging started.

Someone on the next street over apparently thought Christmas was the perfect time to set off leftover Fourth of July fireworks. Freddy’s training was rock-solid, except for loud noises, and her reaction to it was either cower and shake or run. And that moment was the perfect storm of bad timing. As Jean was busy propping open the door and bending over to haul the huge box in, the first of many loud bangs began. Before he could properly react, a fuzzy brown body darted out the open door and down the stairs. Jean turned and screamed out after Freddy, trying to call her back as he dropped the box. He most likely had broken something in the box, but at the moment he couldn’t care less because Freddy was currently running full tilt towards the main road. Jean ran after her yelling her name over and over to no avail. Panic had set into her mind as it was starting to set into his because out of the corner of his eye he could see headlights coming up the road and they were heading toward his dog and oh God he wasn’t going to make it, it was too dark to see her, his baby girl was going to get hit…

Tears steamed down his face as he pushed himself faster. He knew he wasn’t going to make it. Time seemed to slow and he could almost see the impact in his mind. He heard the tires squealing and then..

Silence.

Jean stopped at the edge of the curb and blinked back the river of tears as he took in the scene before him. The car was stopped in the middle of the road, and in front of the idling vehicle and wrapped around his shivering dog was Marco. He was kneeling on the pavement, his body mere inches from the bumper of he car, and head one arm round her trembling chest, the other a death grip on her collar.

Jean took a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding in and shakily stepped off the curb toward them. The driver stood from his car to survey the scene as well, asking if everyone was alright.

“I didn’t even see her! I’m so sorry!” The middle aged man exclaimed. Jean could barely acknowledge the guy, his sight set on his girl and his crush. Marco raised his head and opened his eyes, locking onto Jean’s wide-eyed panic stricken face. Before he could move, Jean rushed the last few feet and dropped to his knees, crying out both their names and throwing his arms around both dog and boy. In the background, the fireworks were still going off, causing Freddy to shiver more in between the two boys. Jean shook as well, burying his face in her neck fur and letting the tears run down again. He felt fingers run gently through his hair as he hiccupped breaths into her fur. Muffled as it was, he heard Marco’s soft voice talking to the driver about Freddy’s fear of noises and apologizing on their behalf.

Somehow after that, Marco was able to gently coax Jean and Freddy back to the side of the road so that the driver could move on. Marco told Jean to sit down for a moment, seeing Jean shaking as much as his dog, and that he’d run back to Jean’s house to get her leash. As Jean sat there holding onto Freddy’s collar with her between his legs, he spotted what looked like take out containers and a messenger bag spilt over the sidewalk not too far from where he sat. A moment later, Marco came back with her red and green leash and clipped it onto her collar.

“I’m sorry about your food..” Jean gestured to the spilled food, his voice hoarse from the screaming and crying. Marco smiled gently and shook his head.

“It’s ok. I’d do it all over again. I’m just glad I was there and got there in time.” Marco tilted his head slightly, and a look of concern passed over his face. He ran a hand through Jean’s hair gently and wiped away the drying tears from his cheeks with the end of his sleeve. Jean’s heart beat rapidly for a different reason altogether at that moment. “Are you okay?”

Jean nodded his head, still cradled by Marco’s hand. “Yeah just, shaken..a lot.”

“That’s totally understandable.” Marco smiled gently and rubbed his thumb across the apple of Jean’s cheek. “Do you want to come back to my place? We can watch a movie while these stupid fireworks are still going off and order food…” Jean smiled and nodded again, his heat rate kicking up another notch.

“Sure, I’d like that.”

Later that night found the two of them curled next to each other, Jean’s head on Marco’s shoulder and Freddy laying across their laps. A comedy movie played on the TV and a pizza box lay decimated by their feet. One hand of each boy petted Freddy’s fur, while their other hands lay entwined between their bodies. Mochi had joined them and lay sprawled out behind them on the back of the couch, Jean sighed happily. Jean had no idea this was how his night was going to turn out, on an impromptu date with his crush after said crush saved his dog. But he was glad for it.

“Hey,” Marco began quietly “My friends are having a Christmas party the day before Christmas. Do you want go with me as my date?” Jean smiled and tilted his head back on Marco’s shoulder to look at his face. A blush was creeping up over his freckles, much like when they had first met months ago.

“Yeah, I’d love to.” He agreed. Marco smiled his radiant smile again, and as he tilted his head down to gently press his lips against Jean’s, their first of many kisses, Jean thought to himself that maybe luck should be a part of his life. Jean let go of Freddy’s fur and brought up his hand behind Marco’s neck, holding him in place in order to deepen the kiss.

Yeah, Luck was definitely a part of his life now. He was pretty damn lucky that night.


End file.
